Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Big Sky Cost-Savings Initiatives Begin

The Big Sky Conference announced two cost savings initiatives today, with more apparently on the way following conference meetings in May. The conference announced it is canceling its annual football Summer Kickoff in Park City, Utah, a gathering of coaches, league officials and the media that has been an institution for 25 years.

The Big Sky also announced that league volleyball matches will be played on a Friday-Saturday format (with the exception of trips that include Northern Arizona), a change from the current Thursday-Saturday set-up, and a likely foreshadowing of the conference moving men's and women's basketball to Friday-Saturday schedules. That, along with several other cost-savings proposals, will be voted on at the league's spring meetings May 18-20 in Salt Lake City.

Also expected to be adopted during those meetings are reductions in the number of teams that make the postseason men's and women's basketball tournaments, from 6 to 4; an elimination of the post-season conference soccer tournament; and a reduction in the traveling parties for basketball teams.

Editor's (Frank's) Note: Just a couple of added things here. While volleyball is moving to Friday-Saturday, men's and women's basketball will not change from Thursday-Saturday at this time. Also, while all of those things are options at the May 18-20 meetings, saying that those things are expected to be adopted is probably inaccurate. They might very well be adopted, but I don't think it's a given, based on the things that I'm hearing. It'll be interesting for sure.

Thanks Frank, you are certainly closer to the "pulse" than I. We shall all stay tuned.--BB